I'm not saying it never went on before, but it seems that in the age of the internet the favourite sport of many is finding a scapegoat, and then sticking to misconceptions no matter how ill-judged they are.
For a while it was Lucas, now it's Henderson and Adam to a lesser extent.
I mean let's forget that Henderson is the england U21 captain, that he has great physical attributes and has moved away from home and family to a new club, instead people just deride him for not being the finished article at just 21 years of age.
The same happened with Lucas, and no doubt will happen with other young players in future.
In an example of stunning hypocrisy, the same people who constantly say IKWT and all that, then have the gall to question his decision to play the young lad.
But here's the thing, you either trust KK or you don't. It's not conditional on a person understanding what KK see's in a player, all we need to know is that KK trusts and rates the player and that's why he plays him.
Yes we can and should discuss players, and what we think are their strengths and weaknesses, but the derision, piss taking and name calling is beyond the pale.
Going back to Lucas, he has been the object of some very strong abuse and I for one wouldn't have blamed him for walking away, but the thing is, every single manager he has played under has rated him.
I suspect it will be the same with Hendo.
I know that many blame the so called sky generation for this scapegoating, but is it really as simple as that? Or has the internet destroyed what used to be a deserved reputation as the most knowledgeable fans in football?
It's not just forums on the internet though, I hear the same sh*t going on at the ground and not just from daytrippers.
It's almost like a new terrace (and internet) sport, but it's totally counter-productive.
Patience is not only a virtue, it's the key to helping players settle in and build a rapport and relationship with the club, after all who the hell wants to get abused week in and week out whilst trying to do the best for new employers and supporters?
I certainly wouldn't want it, and at the end of the day it amounts to little more than bullying.
We've always had a lot of wit on the terraces and some of it can be quite biting and is aimed at our own players, but it always used to have a banter type of quality about it.
These days however, it just sounds like wankers shouting abuse.
In fact it annoys me so much at times that I actually understand cantonas decision to take the law into his own hands (or feet as it were) and find myself wishing for a player or two to have a go back.
My position here is clear, scapegoating is a plague and a poison.
If you don't rate a player, then fine, no problems, but when it descends into abuse, and becomes personal then I think some need to take a long hard look at themselves.
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